Archive for limousine hire

When most people think about hiring a limousine perhaps one of the things that instantly comes to mind is size. Most people are often looking for the largest and most luxurious limousines in the market regardless of if they want to be shuttled to an airport, meeting or to their wedding. However, apart from considering what type of limousine you want you also need to consider the limousine hire company. Since there are numerous companies to choose from how exactly do you know which ones you can trust beyond just want you read in their glossy advertisements? Below we look at five of the most important considerations you should make.

Consideration no. 1: The reputation of the company

Yes, this happens to be one of the first things that you should consider with any company prior to even deciding to do business with them. However, the problem with limousine hire companies is that there are so many out there that even people you know and who regularly rent limousines may not know which ones are the best. They will know that the ones they regularly work with are good but how comparatively good they are depends on how much deeper you dig. Do a bit of Googling for reviews and opinions from people in your city who have used the service. There are many rating sites that even rate these services based on the feedback they have received to date. This should help give you a good starting point from where you can choose which companies to do business with.

Consideration no. 2: Price consideration

Obviously everyone wants the best possible limousine hire but in the lowest possible price. Realistically though for service providers maintaining a great limousine costs money and its money that they need to charge people who rent these limousines or else they will not make a profit. So, well maintained limousines are obviously slightly more expensive, but the keyword here is “slightly”. You shouldn’t have to pay 100% or even 35% more for a well maintained vehicle. This is why to find the best price you need to shop around, get quotes and do a bit of bargaining.

Consideration no. 3: Do they provide a replacement guarantee?

What happens when the rented limousine suddenly breaks down half way to your meeting, tradeshow or wedding? Will you need to sit and wait for a replacement to arrive or will you just have to take the cab and pounder upon why you wasted that much money on a limousine. This all depends on the type of guarantee that the company provided. When a limousine hire company provides you with a guarantee this should almost always include immediately providing you with a replacement limousine which is exactly the same. However, many cheap and small limousine hire companies do not have replacements but they will also not mention what will happen in the event the limo breaks down. So, this is something you may want to ask them prior to even considering their limousine.

Consideration no. 4: Does the limousine hire company have a website

Any self-respecting limousine company nowadays should have a website. However in this day and age of the internet there are still a few companies that do not have websites and this often means that they are running a fly-by-night operation. Companies without a website cannot be thoroughly researched and there is no way for you to know much about them. You also cannot browse through their inventory of limousines for hire. So, the best thing to do is to stay away from.

Consideration on. 5: Make sure that the company is registered

The limousine hire company you end up giving your business to should be licensed and registered. This means that it is a legal business and not one run from a shabby office or from a home with three limousines on the lot. This also means that the business is responsible for their actions. Businesses like http://www.superstretch300.com.au has been around for a long time and are not just registered but also one of the leading suppliers of limousines for rent. These are the types of businesses you should trust when hiring a limo.

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Mark is one of the leading experts on limousine hire in Australia. He has run his own hire company with over a dozen or so limousine and luxury cars for over a decade. A trusted and reputed member of his community Mark also writes regularly for numerous magazines and blogs offering advice to wedding couples.

Over the past few years the number of employee based lawsuits that have destroyed limousine hire companies is astounding. In the majority of cases a lawsuit puts a company into bunker mode, affidavits need to be signed, animosity increases and everyone needs to choose sides. The working environment can be miserable which leads to employees not part of the lawsuit to quit their job and new employees hesitate to come onboard what they see as a sinking ship.

In the majority of cases lawsuits can be prevented, something that unfortunately many business owners fail to see. The key factor in avoiding or defending your business against a lawsuit is to set forth hard and fast employment and practices. This needs to be in writing and everyone has to sign off on it when getting hired.

The pay gap and the setup time

The majority of lawsuits in the limousine hire business stem from this one issue. The chauffeur is supposed to be paid from the time he or she pickups up a car until they drop it off. Also, chauffeurs expect to be paid for the gaps they take in between runs. Chauffeurs need to be compensated for setup time and car washes.

Using Independent operators

Also known as an IO, the operator should in fact be independent. This in reality means that the chauffeur either leases or owns the car, has his own insurance, pays for his own gas, and is licensed independent by the state. Many times a lawsuit will arise when an IO is forced to pay for company workman’s compensation or some other employee based fees. In order to avoid this, make sure there is a clear distinction between Independent Operators and chauffeurs that work for you.

Never be a Jerk

It is not surprising that a fair majority of class action lawsuits are mainly because of greed. These are mainly based on long and often deep seeded resentment and an utter hatred for the owners and manager. So, when a settlement is divided up, these payouts are always laughable. But these lawsuits are pursued by chauffeurs because they intend to hurt the hire company they work for.

Document each and everything

It is very important that you document every infraction by your employees and keep detailed personnel files. So, if you terminate a chauffeur you need to have a paper trial in order to support the dismissal.

Never retaliate

If you have a chauffeur file a labor board compliant against you, never retaliate. Because if you do, it opens your business up to a retaliation claim. This can obviously be very painful and often grow out of proportions.

Record everything

Make sure that every call is recorded. So, when a chauffeur has a problem, your dispatch needs to resolve the issue but only on a monitored line. This will make it easier for a manager to review any disagreement.

Install drive cams

Drive cams can fix two very important legal problems. The first problem is that it helps to keep often small fender benders from becoming personal injury lawsuits. The second is that they help to create a permanent record of any reckless driving that the court will accept. So, almost all incidents need to be downloaded and then added into the chauffeurs’ personnel files.

Use the employee handbook

There should be a fixed set of pre-defined standards that work for all chauffeurs. The handbook needs to include almost all matters of behavior, appearance and decorum. They need to be regularly evaluated primarily based on the list of expectations set in the handbook. So, if there are grievances there needs to be consistent evaluations to found a strong defense.

The limo hire business is a tough one. The number of operators that open shop barely make it past the five year mark. It is often the long hours, cut throat rates, and lousy clients that turn many businessmen off. So, an employee based lawsuit just makes matters worse. The good news is that chauffeurs are comparatively cool employees by nature and so they put up with a lot as part of the job. If they do not like what they are doing for you, many of them will really just leave.

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License: Image author owned

License: Image author owned

License: Image author owned

Manu Alias has been in the limo hire business for over a decade. He first started out as a limousine driver when in his early twenties. Today, he owns a fleet of limousines and wedding cars, in Sydney. His great customer service and experience is why he is so successful in this business.